Managed by Harry Wright, Boston finished with a record of 52–18 to win the pennant by 7.5 games. Pitcher Al Spalding started 69 of the Red Stockings' games and led the NA with 52 wins. Outfielder Cal McVey led the league with 71 runs batted in, and he paced the Boston offense which scored more runs than any other team.

1.
South End Grounds
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South End Grounds refers to any one of three baseball parks on one site in Boston, Massachusetts. They were home to the franchise that became known as the Boston Braves, first in the National Association and later in the National League. At least in its edition, the formal name of the park. It was located on the northeast corner of Columbus Avenue and Walpole Street, accordingly, it was also known over the years as Walpole Street Grounds, two other names were Union Baseball Grounds and simply Boston Baseball Grounds. Over time the team acquired other informal nicknames, such as Beaneaters, Red Caps, Rustlers and this team eventually adopted the official nickname Braves, just a few years before abandoning South End Grounds. With its tight foul lines and expansive center field, like a version of the Polo Grounds, it was sometimes said that the South End had no right or left field. South End Grounds was rebuilt twice during its lifetime, the first time by choice, the first South End Grounds was opened on May 16,1871. The last game was played on September 10,1887, the ballparks stands were demolished later that month to make way for a new structure. The second South End Grounds was opened on May 25,1888, the medieval-style witchs cap turrets were a very popular decoration on public seating structures of the 1880s and 1890s. The ballpark seated 6,800 by one estimate and it was the only double-decked baseball stadium ever built in Boston, apart from the rooftop seating which has turned the single-decked Fenway Park into a de facto double-deck ballpark. During the rebuilding process, the Bostons played their games at Congress Street Grounds. The third South End Grounds was built in ten weeks on the site of the old stand, because the previous structure had not been sufficiently insured, there wasnt enough money to rebuild the stands according to its old plans, and a smaller structure was built. Few photographs of this ballpark seem to be in circulation and that image can be seen above this text. The Braves moved out of the South End Grounds after their game on August 11,1914 to accommodate larger crowds during the drive of the 1914 pennant race. The team continued to play at Fenway Park until Braves Field was completed during the 1915 season, the stadium was demolished after the Braves left. The parking lot between Northeastern Universitys Columbus Parking Garage and Ruggles Station of the Orange Line of the MBTA now stands on the site of the grandstand. The outfield was located where the garage stands

2.
Boston
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Boston is the capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. Boston is also the seat of Suffolk County, although the county government was disbanded on July 1,1999. The city proper covers 48 square miles with a population of 667,137 in 2015, making it the largest city in New England. Alternately, as a Combined Statistical Area, this wider commuting region is home to some 8.1 million people, One of the oldest cities in the United States, Boston was founded on the Shawmut Peninsula in 1630 by Puritan settlers from England. It was the scene of several key events of the American Revolution, such as the Boston Massacre, the Boston Tea Party, the Battle of Bunker Hill, and the Siege of Boston. Upon U. S. independence from Great Britain, it continued to be an important port and manufacturing hub as well as a center for education, through land reclamation and municipal annexation, Boston has expanded beyond the original peninsula. Its rich history attracts many tourists, with Faneuil Hall alone drawing over 20 million visitors per year, Bostons many firsts include the United States first public school, Boston Latin School, first subway system, the Tremont Street Subway, and first public park, Boston Common. Bostons economic base also includes finance, professional and business services, biotechnology, information technology, the city has one of the highest costs of living in the United States as it has undergone gentrification, though it remains high on world livability rankings. Bostons early European settlers had first called the area Trimountaine but later renamed it Boston after Boston, Lincolnshire, England, the renaming on September 7,1630 was by Puritan colonists from England who had moved over from Charlestown earlier that year in quest of fresh water. Their settlement was limited to the Shawmut Peninsula, at that time surrounded by the Massachusetts Bay and Charles River. The peninsula is thought to have been inhabited as early as 5000 BC, in 1629, the Massachusetts Bay Colonys first governor John Winthrop led the signing of the Cambridge Agreement, a key founding document of the city. Puritan ethics and their focus on education influenced its early history, over the next 130 years, the city participated in four French and Indian Wars, until the British defeated the French and their Indian allies in North America. Boston was the largest town in British America until Philadelphia grew larger in the mid-18th century, Bostons harbor activity was significantly curtailed by the Embargo Act of 1807 and the War of 1812. Foreign trade returned after these hostilities, but Bostons merchants had found alternatives for their investments in the interim. Manufacturing became an important component of the economy, and the citys industrial manufacturing overtook international trade in economic importance by the mid-19th century. Boston remained one of the nations largest manufacturing centers until the early 20th century, a network of small rivers bordering the city and connecting it to the surrounding region facilitated shipment of goods and led to a proliferation of mills and factories. Later, a network of railroads furthered the regions industry. Boston was a port of the Atlantic triangular slave trade in the New England colonies

3.
Harry Wright
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William Henry Harry Wright was an English-born American professional baseball player, manager, and developer. He assembled, managed, and played center field for baseballs first fully professional team and it was there where he is credited with introducing innovations such as backing up infield plays from the outfield and shifting defensive alignments based on hitters tendencies. For his contributions as a manager and developer of the game, Wright was also the first to make baseball into a business by paying his players up to seven times the pay of the average working man. Born in Sheffield, England, he was the eldest of five children of professional cricketer Samuel Wright and his wife, Annie Tone Wright. His family emigrated to the U. S. when he was three years old, and his father found work as a bowler, coach, and groundskeeper at the St Georges Cricket Club in New York. Harry dropped out of school at age 14 to work for a jewelry manufacturer, both Harry and George, twelve years younger, assisted their father, effectively apprenticing as cricket club pros. Harry played against the first English cricket team to tour overseas in 1859, both brothers played baseball for some of the leading clubs during the amateur era of the National Association of Base Ball Players. Harry was already twenty-two when the baseball fraternity convened for the first time in 1857 and he did not play in a game with the Knickerbockers until July 8,1858, playing the outfield against Excelsior of Brooklyn. The Knickerbockers lost the game, 31–13, in 1863, the Knickerbocker club all but withdrew from official competition, and Wright joined Gotham of New York, primarily playing shortstop. Here, he joined his brother George, who had become a member of the team the previous year, during the winter of 1864/65, the Wrights played the curious game of ice base ball. Wright left New York on March 8,1865, bound for Cincinnati, by now, Wright was 31, probably past his athletic prime. Cincinnati fielded a regional club in 1867. With Wright working as the pitcher, and still a superior player at that level. For 1868 he added four players from the East and one from the crosstown Buckeye club, the easterners, at least, must have been compensated by club members if not by the club. When the NABBP permitted professionalism for 1869, Harry augmented his 1868 imports with five new men, no one but Harry Wright himself remained from 1867, one local man and one other westerner joined seven easterners on the famous First Nine. The most important of the new men was brother George, probably the best player in the game for a few years, George at shortstop remained a cornerstone of Harrys teams for ten seasons. The Red Stockings toured the continent undefeated in 1869 and may have been the strongest team in 1870, as it turned out, the Association also passed from the scene. In 1869 Wright became the first to make mention of the Seventh-inning stretch in a game he watched

4.
History of the Boston Braves
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The Atlanta Braves, a current Major League Baseball franchise, originated in Boston, Massachusetts. This article details the history of the Boston Braves, from 1871 to 1952, the Boston Franchise played at South End Grounds from 1871 to 1914 and at Braves Field from 1915 to 1952. Braves Field is now Nickerson Field of Boston University, the franchise, from Boston to Milwaukee to Atlanta, is the oldest continuous professional baseball franchise. The Cincinnati Red Stockings, established in 1869 as the first openly all-professional baseball team, the original Boston Red Stockings team and its successors can lay claim to being the oldest continuously playing team in American professional sports. Two young players hired away from the Forest City club of Rockford, Illinois, turned out to be the biggest stars during the NAPBBP years, pitcher Al Spalding and second baseman Ross Barnes. Led by the Wright brothers, Barnes, and Spalding, the Red Stockings dominated the National Association, the team became one of the National Leagues charter franchises in 1876, sometimes called the Red Caps. Boston came to be called the Beaneaters by sportswriters in 1883, although somewhat stripped of talent in the National Leagues inaugural year, Boston bounced back to win the 1877 and 1878 pennants. The Red Caps/Beaneaters were one of the dominant teams during the 19th century. For most of time, their manager was Frank Selee. The 1898 team finished 102-47, a record for wins that would stand for almost a century. The team was decimated when the American Leagues new Boston entry set up shop in 1901, many of the Beaneaters stars jumped to the new team, which offered contracts that the Beaneaters owners didnt even bother to match. They only managed one winning season from 1900 to 1913, in 1907, the Beaneaters eliminated the last bit of red from their stockings because their manager thought the red dye could cause wounds to become infected. The American League clubs owner, Charles Taylor, wasted time in changing his teams name to the Red Sox in place of the generic Americans. The all-white outfits gave rise to the sobriquet Doves in 1907, however, clever monikers did nothing to change the National League clubs luck. The team adopted a name, the Braves, for the first time in 1912. Their owner, James Gaffney, was a member of New York Citys political machine, Tammany Hall, two years later, the Braves put together one of the most memorable seasons in baseball history. After a dismal 4-18 start, the Braves seemed to be on pace for a last place finish, on July 4,1914, the Braves lost both games of a doubleheader to the Brooklyn Dodgers. The consecutive losses put their record at 26-40 and the Braves were in last place,15 games behind the league-leading New York Giants, who had won the previous three league pennants

5.
George Wright (sportsman)
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George Wright was an American pioneer in the sport of baseball. He played shortstop for the original Cincinnati Red Stockings, the first fully professional team, in 1868, Wright won the Clipper Medal for being the best shortstop in baseball. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1937 and he was one of five men to play regularly for both the Cincinnati and the Boston Red Stockings, the latter winning six championships during his eight seasons to 1878. On April 22,1876, he became the first batter in National League history, elder brother Harry Wright managed both Red Stockings teams and made George his cornerstone, the brothers are now both in the Hall of Fame. George helped define the position and on-field teamwork, but his main work as a sporting developer came after retiring from baseball. After arriving in Boston he entered the sporting goods business, soon under the name Wright & Ditsons, there he continued in the industry, assisting in the development of golf, tennis, and hockey. Born in Yonkers, New York, twelve years younger than Harry, George Wright was raised as a club pro. Wright was the father of tennis great Beals Wright, a U. S, championship winner and Olympic gold medalist, and Irving Wright, U. S. At some times during the war, both Wright brothers played for the venerable Gothams, the second eldest baseball team after the Knickerbockers, according to Ivor-Campbell, George moved from the Gotham juniors to the senior team when he was fifteen. At seventeen in 1864 he was the regular catcher, baseballs recovery from the American Civil War was far advanced in greater New York City, as the leading clubs played more than twenty NABBP matches, the Gothams eleven. George played eight and led the team both in runs, scoring 2.4 times per game, and hands lost, put out only 2.4 times per game, average being three per player in a 9-inning game. In seven matches infielder Harry was fourth in scoring at 2.0, for the 1865 season George was hired by the Philadelphia Cricket Club, that summer he played in five matches for the Olympic Ball Club of that city. The Olympic club was the devoted to games in the base ball genus, Wright returned to the Gothams for base ball, he was nineteen and nearing his athletic peak. At the same time, Harry Wright moved to Cincinnati for a job at the Union Cricket Club. Early in the summer of 1866, Wright moved from catcher for Gotham, which played eight NABBP matches that year, to shortstop for Union, which played 28, the leading number. In 1867, he joined the Nationals of Washington, D. C. eldest club in city, whose approach to professionalism was arranging government jobs. He played second base, shortstop, and pitcher in 29 of the 30 matches fully on record, next year he returned to the Unions for the associations last officially all-amateur season and moved permanently to the shortstop position. When the NABBP permitted professionalism for 1869, Harry augmented himself and four incumbents with five new men including brother George, George remained a cornerstone of Harrys teams for ten seasons

6.
National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
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The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 25 Main Street in Cooperstown, New York, and operated by private interests. The Halls motto is Preserving History, Honoring Excellence, Connecting Generations, the word Cooperstown is often used as shorthand for the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. The Hall of Fame was established in 1939 by Stephen Carlton Clark, Clark had sought to bring tourists to a city hurt by the Great Depression, which reduced the local tourist trade, and Prohibition, which devastated the local hops industry. A new building was constructed, and the Hall of Fame was dedicated on June 12,1939, the erroneous claim that U. S. Civil War hero Abner Doubleday invented baseball in Cooperstown was instrumental in the early marketing of the Hall. An expanded library and research facility opened in 1994, dale Petroskey became the organizations president in 1999. In 2002, the Hall launched Baseball As America, an exhibit that toured ten American museums over six years. The Hall of Fame has since also sponsored educational programming on the Internet to bring the Hall of Fame to schoolchildren who might not visit, the Hall and Museum completed a series of renovations in spring 2005. The Hall of Fame also presents an annual exhibit at FanFest at the Major League Baseball All-Star Game, Jeff Idelson replaced Petroskey as president on April 16,2008. In 2012, Congress passed and President Barack Obama signed a law ordering the United States Mint to produce and sell commemorative, non-circulating coins to benefit the private, non-profit Hall. The bill, House Bill H. R.2527, was introduced in the United States House of Representatives by Rep. Richard Hanna, a Republican from New York, the coins, which depict baseball gloves and balls, are the first concave designs produced by the Mint. The mintage included 50,000 gold coins,400,000 silver coins, the Mint released them on March 27,2014, and the gold and silver editions quickly sold out. The Hall receives money from surcharges included in the sale price,114 members of the Hall of Fame have been inducted posthumously, including four who died after their selection was announced. Of the 35 Negro league members,29 were inducted posthumously, the Hall of Fame includes one female member, Effa Manley. The newest inductees, enshrined on July 24,2016, are players Mike Piazza, the incoming class of 2017, to be formally enshrined on July 30, consists of executives John Schuerholz and Bud Selig and players Jeff Bagwell, Tim Raines, and Iván Rodríguez. In addition to honoring Hall of Fame inductees, the National Baseball Hall of Fame has presented 40 men with the Ford C, while Frick and Spink Award honorees are not members of the Hall of Fame, they are recognized in an exhibit in the Hall of Fames library. ONeil Award honorees are also not Hall of Fame members, but are listed alongside a permanent statue of the namesake and first recipient, Buck ONeil. From a final ballot typically including 25–40 candidates, each writer may vote for up to 10 players, until the late 1950s, any player named on 75% or more of all ballots cast is elected. A player who is named on fewer than 5% of ballots is dropped from future elections, players receiving 5% or more of the votes but fewer than 75% are reconsidered annually until a maximum of ten years of eligibility

7.
Albert Spalding
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Albert Goodwill Spalding was an American pitcher, manager and executive in the early years of professional baseball, and the co-founder of A. G. Spalding sporting goods company. He was born and raised in Byron, Illinois and he played major league baseball between 1871 and 1878. Spalding set a trend when he started wearing a baseball glove, after his retirement as a player, Spalding remained active with the Chicago White Stockings as president and part-owner. In the 1880s, he took players on the first world tour of baseball, with William Hulbert, Spalding organized the National League. He later called for the commission investigated the origins of baseball. He also wrote the first set of baseball rules. Having played baseball throughout his youth, Spalding first played competitively with the Rockford Pioneers, a youth team, which he joined in 1865. After pitching his team to a 26–2 victory over a mens amateur team, he was approached at the age of 15 by another squad. To aid him in this venture, Hulbert enlisted the help of Spalding, playing to the pitchers desire to return to his Midwestern roots and challenging Spaldings integrity, Hulbert convinced Spalding to sign a contract to play for the White Stockings in 1876. Spalding then coaxed teammates Deacon White, Ross Barnes and Cal McVey, as well as Philadelphia Athletics players Cap Anson and Bob Addy, to sign with Chicago. News of the signings by the Boston and Philadelphia players leaked to the press before the season ended and all of them faced verbal abuse and he was the premier pitcher of the 1870s, leading the league in victories for each of his six full seasons as a professional. During each of years he was his teams only pitcher. In 1876, Spalding won 47 games as the pitcher for the White Stockings. In 1877, Spalding began to use a glove to protect his catching hand, people had used gloves previously, but they were not popular, and Spalding himself was skeptical of wearing one at first. However, once he began donning gloves, he influenced other players to do so, Spalding retired from playing baseball in 1878 at the age of 27, although he continued as president and part owner of the White Stockings and a major influence on the National League. Spaldings.796 career winning percentage is the highest ever by a baseball pitcher, joining Chicago initially were the leading teams from Cincinnati, Louisville, and St. Louis. The owners of these western clubs accompanied Hulbert and Spalding to New York where they met with owners from New York City, Philadelphia, Hartford. Each signed the constitution, and the National League was officially born

8.
Deacon White
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James Laurie Deacon White was an American baseball player who was one of the principal stars during the first two decades of the sports professional era. Although he was already 28 when the NL was established, White played 15 seasons in the major leagues, in 1871, White was the first batter to come to the plate in the National Association, the first professional baseball league. For three years afterward, he joined his younger brother Will, a pitcher, with the Cincinnati Reds. In his mid-30s he became a third baseman when the toil of catching had become too great. Over the 20-year period of his career, White batted.312 and had more RBI than any player except Cap Anson, upon his retirement, he was among baseballs all-time leaders in career games, at bats, hits and total bases. He ranked fourth in total chances at third base, fifth in assists. White was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in July 2013, White was born in Caton, New York, the son of farmer Lester S. White and his wife Adeline. Whites ancestors likely immigrated to America during the Colonial period and his cousin Elmer White also played baseball professionally as James teammate in 1871, in March 1872, Elmer was the first recorded professional baseball player to die. White learned baseball from a Union soldier who returned to his hometown after the Civil War in 1865 and his pro career began in 1868 with the Cleveland Forest Citys club, at a time when no team was entirely composed of professional players. White led his league in batting twice, and in RBI three times, not until 1953, when Roy Campanella topped the NL, would another catcher lead his league in RBI. White started out early enough to have played against the undefeated Cincinnati Red Stockings of 1869, on May 16,1884 White recorded 11 assists at third base, which remains the major league record for a nine-inning game although eight other players have since tied the mark. In the rough-and-tumble 19th-century baseball era, White was a nonsmoking, Bible-toting, church-going deacon. In 1889, the contracts of White and teammate Jack Rowe were sold to the Pittsburgh Alleghenys, eventually the two men were paid, with White telling a reporter, We appreciate the money, but we aint worth it. Im over 40 and my fielding aint so good, though I can still hit some, no man is going to sell my carcass unless I get half. Complaints like this were part of the reason that the Players League was formed in 1890, according to historian Lee Allen in The National League Story, White believed that the earth is flat. He tried and failed to convince his teammates that they were living on a plane and not a globe. Then one asked to be convinced, and the Deacon gave him an argument suited to the hypothesis that the earth is not really turning and he convinced the teammate but the argument would not prove that the earth is not a sphere. Whites playing career ended after the 1890 season, over the 20-year period from 1871 to 1890, White batted.312 and had more RBI than any player except Cap Anson, and also ranked fourth in career games, at bats, hits and total bases

9.
George Hall (baseball)
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See also George William Hall, Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University. George William Hall was a baseball player who played in the National Association. Born in Stepney, England, Hall later immigrated to the U. S and he made his professional debut on May 5,1871. Hall began his career with the Washington Olympics of the National Association in 1871. He moved onto the Baltimore Canaries for the 1872 and 1873 seasons, hitting.336, playing mostly center field up to this point, he moved around from center to right field the following year when he played for the 1874 Champions, the Boston Red Stockings. After the 1875 season, the National Association folded, which room for a new league to begin. In 1876, the National League came into existence, the first official Major League, halls team, the Athletics, followed that movement with very little success, finishing seventh out of eight teams. One of the spots that year for the Athletics was the hitting prowess of their star hitter. He led the team in almost all major hitting categories including a.366 batting average,51 runs scored, on June 17,1876, he became the first Major League baseball player to hit two home runs in one game. Those five home runs stood as the season home run record until Charley Jones hit nine in 1879. Again, he had an excellent season, hitting.323, scoring 51 runs, surprisingly, after appearing in the league leaders for home runs the last two seasons, he did not hit one in 1877. On October 26,1877, Louisville club vice president Charles Chase confronted Hall and fellow Gray Jim Devlin with charges that they threw some road games in August and September. Both admitted only to throwing games, one of which was an exhibition game in Lowell, Massachusetts, on August 30. The admissions also implicated teammates Al Nichols and Bill Craver, as a result of the scandal, all four players were banned for life from Major League Baseball. Hall died in Ridgewood, New York, at the age of 74 and he was buried at Evergreen Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York. List of Major League Baseball annual home run leaders List of people banned from Major League Baseball Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference George Hall at Find a Grave

10.
Run batted in
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A run batted in, plural runs batted in, is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored. For example, if the batter bats a base hit, then another player on a base can go home. Prior to the 1920 Major League Baseball season, runs batted in were not a baseball statistic. Nevertheless, the RBI statistic was tabulated—unofficially—from 1907 through 1919 by baseball writer Ernie Lanigan, common nicknames for an RBI include ribby, rib, and ribeye. The plural of RBI is generally RBIs, although some commentators use RBI as both singular and plural, as it can stand for runs batted in. The official scorers judgment must determine whether a run batted in shall be credited for a run that scores when a fielder holds the ball or throws to a wrong base. The perceived significance of the RBI is displayed by the fact that it is one of the three categories that comprise the triple crown, in addition, career RBIs are often cited in debates over who should be elected to the Hall of Fame. This implies that better offensive teams—and therefore, the teams in which the most players get on base—tend to produce hitters with higher RBI totals than equivalent hitters on lesser-hitting teams, totals are current through October 8,2015

11.
Charles H. Porter
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Charles Howell Porter was a U. S. Born in Cairo, New York, Porter completed preparatory studies and he was graduated from the law university at Albany, New York, in 1853. He was admitted to the bar in 1854 and commenced practice in Ashland and he entered the Union Army in 1861 as a member of the First Regiment, New York Mounted Rifles. He served as city attorney for one year and he moved to Richmond, Virginia, in 1867. He served as member of the Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1868, upon the readmission of Virginia to representation was elected as a Republican to the Forty-first and Forty-second Congresses and served from January 26,1870, to March 3,1873. He declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1872 and he engaged in the practice of law in New York City and Beacon, New York. He died in Cairo, New York, July 9,1897 and he was interred in Cairo Cemetery. 1869, Porter was elected to the U. S. House of Representatives with 77. 16% of the vote, defeating Independents James W. Hunnicutt, biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Charles H. Porter at Find a Grave